Picking up back issues of comics can be extremely confusing, especially if you are not familiar with the storyline. This was the case with The New Avengers #58, which was published towards the end of 2009. It appears that the Avengers are fugitives during this time, as they find themselves hiding in a safe house in Brooklyn. They still have their core values but somehow these values don't jive with the current law.
Norman Osborn is very powerful as he leads H.A.M.M.E.R., where he utilizes his own Avengers to keep the peace within his world. Meanwhile, The Hood has been neutralized, but Loki seems dead set on fixing this situation. Doctor Jonas Harrow leads some of The Hood's crew over to the side of Norman Osborn, along with the technology to curb super-powers.
Luke Cage is in serious need of medical help and possibly surgery but Night Nurse was unable to pierce his skin with needles. Giving the New Avengers an opportunity to escape, Cage allows himself to be left in the hands of Norman Osborn who has the ability to help him with the assistance of Harrow. Spider-Man, Captain America, Ronin, Mockingbird, Spider-Woman and Ms. Marvel avoided the clutches of H.A.M.M.E.R. but still worried about Cage. Cage's wife, who was at the hideout with their baby, wasn't too happy when the Avengers returned without her husband. Osborn seems to want to save Cage because he has plans for him.
Being in the glossy era of comic book pages, Stuart Immonen, Wade von Grawbadger and Dave McCaig provided artwork that jumped off the pages. The atmosphere cleverly changed during different arks of the story. Brian Michael Bendis handled this complicated tale in an easy-to-follow format. There are storylines within the storyline that I was able to follow having been a Marvel reader for many years. I am now ready to take on some of the other New Avengers back issues!
